CHICAGO, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team's defense stepped up in the closing seconds, stealing the ball from Wilbur Wright's Joshua Williams in the closing seconds to preserve a 48-47 Hawks victory over the Rams on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 47-45 in the final two minutes, Harper's Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep) tied the game with 1:15 remaining on a layup, and on the next possession, Benton stole a Rams pass. On the ensuing possession, Benton was fouled and split a pair of free throws to give the Hawks (9-17, 2-8 N4C) the 48-47 advantage. With Wright (5-19, 0-10 N4C) holding for the last shot, Williams was trapped by Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) and Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech) and turned the ball over to Donte Harper (Elgin, Ill. /Elgin) with a second remaining.

Benton led the Hawks with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) scored 15 points. Brian Miller paced the Rams with 13 points.

The Hawks return to action Wednesday at home as they taken on College of DuPage (15-10, 5-5 N4C). Harper will look to avenge a Jan. 17 loss at DuPage and salvage a regular season series split. Tipoff is set for 7 PM inside the Wellness & Sports Center.